A/N: Hai gais :D I only have 2 in-progress stories right now and so the updates will probably be faster .. Sorry this one is so short, but the ending felt right. Bear with me, y'all.
In other words, I can bitch to the 2 people that are reading this. My favorite band was coming to my state (we were gonna drive 2 hours) and the morning of the concert, i.e. yesterday AM, I was informed that the concert was canceled. CANCELED! I was looking forward to that shit for 2 months gaiz! Plus, my show was the only one that got booted, so...Jordan Witzigreuter, your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries! Mickey Mouse *^&$% with a stick of dynamite %&#* in a castle far far away where no one will ever find her! May France and Italy from Hetalia be always following you and may the odds be NEVER in your favor!
Just kidding. He's too hot for all that stuff.
But speaking of the Hunger Games (which was awesome btw...) wanna hear my new song? :D It goes like this: "When I walk out the shop, this is what I see. Katniss Everdeen is staring at me! I got some bread in my hands and I ain't afraid to throw it, throw it, throw it...I'm Peeta and I know it!" Been annoying all my friends to death over the past week...
...ahem. I have a fever so you'll have to excuse me.
Disclaimer: Maximum Ride belongs to a 70 year-old.
"It is unlawful to climb trees in Central Park," comes a loud and irritating voice, making me shoot from sleep to awareness with a painful accuracy.
My eyes shoot open and meet Max's wide ones. Simultaneously, we look down to see a cop car parked below us, lights flashing, the whole shebang. I rolled my eyes. Seriously?
"How did they even know we were up here?" Gaz complains. "Who looks up into a tree?"
I hide a grin behind my hand and return my attention to the ground. A cop in a uniform was standing at the base of the tree, holding some kind of PA gadget to her mouth. "It is unlawful to climb trees in Central Park," she repeats, sounding a little irritated. "Please come down at once."
Max groans, bummed that we can't just jump down and we actually have to pretend to be slightly normal. "Okay, guys," she says, "get down, try to look normal. When we're on the ground, we'll make a run for it. If we get separated, connect up at, like, Fifty-fourth Street and Fifth Avenue. Comprende?"
We all nod. I'm the first down the tree, sliding down it like a firehouse pole, hating the way the bark sticks to my jeans, catching on the fabric and snapping with tiny chinks. Ig comes down next, and I know that the almost grace with which we move isn't normal for teenage boys, but that's okay. They can't arrest us for being too agile.
When I get to the ground, Ig landing lightly next to me, a pompous male cop strides over. "Gentlemen, do you know why we're standing here right now?"
"Uh...because you got all C's in high school?" I glance up into the tree, watching Max safely make in to the ground behind Gaz, Nudge and Angel.
"There are signs posted everywhere clearly stating that climbing trees is forbidden," the cop sputters, trying to regain some of his pompousness. So focused is he that he fails to notice us slowly backing away, inch by inch.
"Are you runaways?" asked the female cop, coming back over. "We'll take you somewhere. You can make phone calls, call your folks."
Another cruiser pulls up, filling the awkward silence with noise from the engine. The doors open, and two more cops climb out.
"They brought all these people out here just for us?" I mutter to Ig. "I'm honored."
The female cop's walkie-talkie buzzed, and she glanced away from us to pull it out.
"Now!" Max whisper-shouts, and the six of us scatter away from there, making the female cop look up in surprise and drop her walkie-talkie.
"Celeste!" Angel suddenly cries out, and Max whirls around to grab the youngest flock member as she tries to go back for her stuffed bear. Max yells at Angel and scoops her up, fleeing despite the younger girl's attempts to struggle. Quick footsteps alert me to Max' presence, and I reach out in time to snatch Angel from the air without missing a beat.
"Celeste!" Angel cries, reaching back over my shoulder desperately. "Celeste!" She sounds so heartbroken that I almost wanted to...well, I don't know but it made me want to do something, anything.
"I'll get you another one!" Max promises rashly from next to me. I almost laugh at that. Yeah, with what money?
"I don't want another one!" she wails, the end of her sentence muffled as she buries her face in my jacket (I still hadn't gotten a shirt) and sobs her little heart out.
"Have we lost 'em?" Gaz calls from ahead of us, tossing the words over his shoulder. Max glances back, and despair crosses her face.
"No!" she yells back.
"We're going to have to fix that, then," I murmur to her, and I swear I see her almost smile at that.
We rip up the pavement headed south and east, still not able to lose the cops. Irritation is beginning to course through me; I set down Angel and she keeps pace next to me, her hand in mine, her eyes puffy and her cheeks wet. Ig Is running beside Max, his fingertips brushing her, and Nudge and Gaz are in the lead.
We pass Fifty-fourth, and we still haven't lost 'em.
Max begins to slow a little, a familiar expression of frustration settling over her features. I pull Angel up next to her, and we continue to run, just not quite as fast. "Inside a store?" I suggest. "Then out through a back exit?"
"Yeah, maybe so," Max says back. "Let's turn east on Fifty-first."
We do so, skidding around a corner and down what I realize is a convenient one-way street. Good, the cops would have to detour around - but we still wouldn't have much time. We needed to think, and think fast; find somewhere to catch a collective breath before continuing our search.
"What's that?" Nudge asks, stopping abruptly and levitating a finger at the building before us.
Max stops so quickly she trips over her own feet and almost falls flat on her face. Recovering, she glares up at the building, which is gray and spidery, almost as though it was stone lace. Gems of stained glass twinkle from various alcoves like dew.
"Is it a museum?" Gaz asks.
"No," Max says, her gaze focused on a sign. Squinting her eyes to see it better, she adds, "It's Saint Patrick's cathedral. It's a church."
"A church!" Nudge is practically bouncing. "I've never been in one. Can we go?"
And yep, folks, that right there is the extent of our religious exposure.
Max bites her lip, about to reprimand Nudge for something-or-other, but I don't want to hear it. An idea pops into my mind, and I speak before she can. "Sanctuary," I say quietly, and watch the wheels turning in her mind as she turns over my idea.
"Okay, fine," she says. Nudge cheers and begins to skip up the steps, but Max grabs her back and pulls us all into a circle.
"All right, guys, I know we've never done this before, but...please, try to stay calm and respectful, okay? Don't act like hooligans." She eyes Nudge as she says this, and the younger girl pretends to be affronted.
"Hooligans? Us?" Nudge scoffs. "'Course not, Maxie-pants."
Max smiles and ruffles her hair. "All right, then, 's long as we're clear. Go on!" She steps back, and the circle dissolves, the six of us attempting to merge with the crowd.
We pass the doors, which are bigger than my life, and enter the lobby of the cathedral. The ceiling spreads above us, stretching and curving.
Some people are gathering for a guided tour, which is the opposite of what we want, while others are just milling about and reading plaques and such. Up towards the front, some more people are sitting with heads bowed on fisted hands, on their knees.
It's so quiet... It's relaxing. I glance at Ig and see him let out a breath; a smile stretching across his stressed face. Away from the noise barrier of the outside street, I guess he finally knew where he was.
Well, I guess if we survived this Iggy could always come back and find his calling... I shake my head. No, no way he was ever coming back to this city.
"Let's go up there," Max says softly, inclining her head toward the front. The six of us pad quietly to the front rows and file into a pew, unfolding the blue velvet...knee bench thing.
"This place is awesome," Gaz breathes, his neck straining as he gazes up at the stained glass windows. Nudge's jaw is about to fall off.
"What are those people doing?" Angel whispers, gesturing to all the people in the church near us.
"I think they're praying," Max whispers back.
"Let's pray too," Angel says decisively, a little too loudly.
"Uh-"
Angel slid down so that all he weight was resting on her knees on the bench and her toes on the floor. Glancing around, she clasped her hands together and rested her forehead on them, closing her eyes.
We all eased into the same position as her. Sandwiched between Max and Gaz, I put my own hands down on the wooden pew and closed my eyes, thinking.
"What are we praying for?" Ig asks.
"Um - anything you want?" Max guesses.
"We're praying to God, right?" Nudge says, her voice uncertain.
"I think that's the general idea."
"Okay, then," Nudge murmurs, and then clears her throat as though she is making a speech. "Dear God," she says under her breath, "I want real parents. But I want them to want me too. I want them to love me. I already love them. Please see what you can do. Thanks very much. Love, Nudge."
...Dear God...
"Please get Celeste back to me," Angel says, her voice thick. "And help me grow up to be like Max. And keep everyone safe. And do something bad to the bad guys. They should not be able to hurt us anymore."
...if you're really out there...
"I want to be able to see stuff," Ig says, his voice concentrated. "Like I used to, when I was little. And I want to be able to totally kick Jeb's butt. Thank you."
...and if you're listening...
"God, I want to be big and strong," Gaz says, his voice serious. "So I can help Max, and other people too."
...then please...
I can hear Max breathing slowly, shallowly, listening to the quiet around her. I can hear my heart thumping in my ears.
...help us be free from our pasts...
"Please help Angel find Celeste." Max's voice is low, wobbly, but determined.
...help us understand why Jeb left us and betrayed us...
"And help me be a better leader, a better person," she says, so quietly I can almost not hear her.
...help Iggy one day be able to see again...
"Make me braver, stronger, smarter."
...help the Gasman not have to be so brave and tough all the time...
"Help me take care of the flock."
...help Nudge be able to someday live a normal life...
"Help me find some answers."
...help Angel come to terms with her crazy powers...
"Uh, thanks."
...help Max realize that she doesn't have to do it all on her own...
She clears her throat, and we settle into silence once more.
...Amen.
...Oh, and God? By the way, if you have any spare shirts handy, just...don't hesitate to send them my way, okay?
Amen.
Short, but I felt like it needed to be ended there. :D